In Pinellas County, only the best of the best have the opportunity to participate on a school sports team.  With some tryouts reaching 75-100 kids and rosters of 30, spots are extremely limited.  Public schools can do better than turning away so many.    

In public schools, all kids who want to join a team should have the opportunity to do so.  Every team, in every sport, if numbers demand it, should have a Junior Varsity alternative for those kids who simply want to be a productive part of their high school.  Not only does participation derive numerous health benefits for our teens, expanding access further salvages the fragile self-esteem of younger or "next" tier athletes. 

The facilities exist, parents/sponsorships will bare the burden of the additional costs of playing, and coaches support broader participation as a feeder to their Varsity programs. 

Adding Junior Varsity sports for all in Pinellas County can get our young men and women together, help make our teenagers healthier, and create life long friendships that today only the very best have access to. 

We can change this. 

We must.